October 5
1900s-1910s * 1901 - The Brooklyn Superbas sweep two from the New York, 8–0 and 4–2. Bill Donovan pitches the opener, allowing three hits, in winning his National League-high 25th game. Christy Mathewson umpires the first game, then loses the 2nd game, also umpired by a ball player. * 1905 - In the first game of a doubleheader, Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Chief Bender has three hits, including a three-run triple, in an 8–0 victory over the Washington Senators. Bender also relieves Andy Coakley in the second game and wins 9–7. Overall, he has two wins with six hits and eight RBI for the day. * 1907 - Philadelphia Athletics Rube Vickers pitches a five-inning 4–0 perfect game against the Washington Senators. Vickers also wins the 15-inning first game of the twin bill, 4–2, with a spectacular 12–inning relief effort. The two wins are the only ones for Vickers in the season. * 1908: **Chicago White Sox pitcher Ed Walsh tops the Detroit Tigers, 6–1, for his 40th victory and forces the American League pennant race to the final day. Detroit's 24-game winner Eddie Summers takes the loss. Walsh leads the league in games pitched (66), innings (464), strikeouts (269), complete games (42), saves (six), shutouts (11) and winning percentage (.727). His ERA is 1.42. **The St. Louis Browns end the pennant hopes of the Cleveland Naps with a 3–1 win the opener of two. Cleveland takes the second game, 5–3, to end the season with a 90–64 record. If the Tigers win tomorrow, their 90–63 will top Cleveland, whereas if the Chicago White Sox win, their 89-63 record will be four points ahead of the Naps. **Boston Red Sox pitcher King Brady makes his only American League appearance a good one, shutting out the New York Highlanders 4–0. King had fashioned 1–1 records for both the Phillies and Pirates in the National League, and will go back to the NL with the Boston Braves over the winter. *1911 - The National Commission sells motion picture rights to the World Series for $3,500. When the players demand a share of it, the Commission cancels the deal. * 1912: **The Boston Red Sox defeat the Philadelphia Athletics 3–0 for their 105th win of the season, an American League record until the 1927 Yankees reach 110. **In their last game at Washington Park, the Brooklyn Superbas lose to the New York Giants, 1–0. Pat Ragan takes the loss before 10,000 fans. Brooklyn will open next season at Ebbets Field. **The New York Highlanders also play their last game at their field, Hilltop Park, beating the Washington Senators, 8–6, on the strength of Hal Chase's three-run home run. Next year the team will play at the Polo Grounds. Homer Thompson, in his only major league appearance, is the catcher for New York while pitching is his brother Tommy, becoming the first brother battery in American League history. * 1915 - In a 5–0 loss to the Indians, Detroit Tigers speedster Ty Cobb steals his 96th base of the season. Cobb's 96 steals will stand as a major league record until 1962, when Maury Wills steals 104 bases for the Dodgers. 1920s-1930s * 1920 - The tradition of low-scoring World Series games continues when the Cleveland Indians manage to collect only five hits off Brooklyn Robins starter Rube Marquard and two relievers. Stan Coveleski gives the Indians a 3-1 opening victory with a five-hitter complete game * 1921 - New York is the first one-city World Series since 1906 and the Polo Grounds is the site for all nine games. Carl Mays of the Yankees needs 86 pitches to set the Giants down on five hits, four of them by Frankie Frisch, as Babe Ruth drives in the first run of the Series in the opening inning of the 3–0 Yankees win. * 1926 - In Game Three of the World Series, Jesse Haines pitches a five-hit shutout as the Cardinals beat the Yankees, 4–0, to take a 2-1 lead in the Series. * 1928 - In the World Series, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees unloads a three-run home run in the first inning of Game Two. Grover Cleveland Alexander, the hero of the 1926 Series between the Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals, is driven from the game in the third inning as New York cruises, 9-3, to take a 2-1 Series lead. * 1929 - New York Giants Mel Ott and Chuck Klein of the Philadelphia Phillies go into a head-to-head doubleheader tied at 42 home runs apiece. In the opener, Klein homers for the Phillies off Carl Hubbell in his first at-bat to take the home run lead. In the nightcap, Phillies pitchers intentionally walk Ott five times rather than give him a chance to tie Klein. The last walk comes with the bases loaded. Lefty O'Doul of the Phillies has six hits on the day for an National League season-record of 254 hits. * 1939 - In Game Two of the World Series, Yankees pitcher Monte Pearson does not allow a base hit until one out in the eighth inning as he shuts out Cincinnati, 4–0. Babe Dahlgren hits a home run and a double as the Yankees take a 2-0 Series lead. 1940s-1960s *1941 - In the World Series, Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Mickey Owen dropped a third strike on Tommy Henrich of what would have been the final out of a Dodgers victory against the New York Yankees. Given the second chance, the Yankees then rally for a 7–4 win to take a 3-1 Series lead. *1942 - Whitey Kurowski hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning of Game Five gives the St. Louis Cardinals a 4–2 victory to capture the World Series over the Yankees. *1945 - Claude Passeau of the Chicago Cubs pitches a one-hitter, beating the Detroit Tigers 3–0 in Game Three of the World Series. *1947 - Left fielder Al Gionfriddo made a spectacular catch and robbed Joe DiMaggio of a game-tying home run in Game Six of the World Series. The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Yankees, 8–6. *1952 - In Game Five of the World Series, Brooklyn won 6–5 in 11 innings over the Yankees when Billy Cox scored the winning run behind a RBI-double hit by Duke Snider. Carl Erskine pitched a complete game to give Brooklyn a 3-2 Series lead heading back to Ebbets Field. *1953 - The New York Yankees win the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game Six of the World Series. Billy Martin bats his 12th Series hit, a single to center field in the bottom of the ninth inning, that gives the Yankees their fifth World Championship in a row. Carl Furillo had tied it up in the ninth with a two-run home run. *1960 - In a portent of things to come, Bill Mazeroski's two-run fifth-inning home run off Jim Coates is the difference as Pittsburgh beats the Yankees, 6–4, in its first World Series win since 1925. *1966 - With first-inning home runs by Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson, and 11 strikeouts from relief pitcher Moe Drabowsky, the Baltimore Orioles win their first World Series game, 5–2, over the Los Angeles Dodgers. *1967 - Jim Lonborg of the Boston Red Sox pitched a one-hit, 5–0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals to tie the World Series, 1-1. Carl Yastrzemski hit two home runs. *1968 - Tim McCarver and Orlando Cepeda each hit three-run home runs to lead the Cardinals to a 7–3 win over Detroit. The Cardinals take a 2-1 World Series lead. 1970s-1990s * 1971 - The Baltimore Orioles overcome two home runs of Reggie Jackson to complete a sweep of the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series with a 5–3 victory. * 1979 - The Pittsburgh Pirates complete a sweep of their National League Championship Series, beating the Cincinnati Reds, 7–1. Willie Stargell, who hit a home run, is named Series MVP. * 1980 - Capping an improbable comeback, the Dodgers beat Houston for the third day in a row to force a one-game playoff for the NL West title. The Dodgers trailed Houston by three games with three games left in the season, and won each game by a single run. * 1984 - Pitchers Milt Wilcox and Willie Hernández combine on a three-hitter to give the Detroit Tigers a 1–0 win and a sweep of the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS. * 1986 - Pete Incaviglia of the Texas Rangers hit his 30th home run of the season against the California Angels, becoming the 16th rookie in major league history to reach that mark. The homer came off Don Sutton as the Rangers beat the Angels, 7–4. * 1991 - After 11 lead changes or ties in the closing weeks of the NL West race, the Atlanta Braves finally clinch the division on the second-to-last day of the season. * 1996 - Bernie Williams homered from each side of the plate and Cecil Fielder broke a tie with a seventh-inning single as the Yankees beat Texas, 6–4, to win the American League Division Series, 3–1, and advance to the ALCS. * 1997 - Mike Mussina beats the Mariners and Randy Johnson for the second time and gives Baltimore their second straight trip to the American League Championship Series. Mussina pitches a two-hitter for seven innings to win the game, and the Series, by a 3-1 margin. * 1999: **The Houston Astros defeat the Atlanta Braves, 6–1, in the opener of their National League Division Series. Shane Reynolds gets the win for Houston, as third baseman Ken Caminiti notches three hits, including a three-run home run. **The New York Mets defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8–4, to take the Game One of their NLDS. Edgardo Alfonzo hits two home runs for New York, including a game-winning grand slam with two-outs in the 9th inning. Randy Johnson takes the loss for Arizona, his sixth consecutive defeat in postseason play. **The New York Yankees whitewash the Texas Rangers, 8–0, in Game One of their ALDS. Orlando Hernández pitches a two-hitter for New York, while Bernie Williams hits a single, double and home run. with six RBI. 2000s *2000: **The Mets even their NLDS with San Francisco at one game apiece by winning a 10-inning thriller, 5–4. Jay Payton's single drives home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning after J.T. Snow's pinch-hit three-run home run ties the game in the bottom of the 9th. Edgardo Alfonzo hit a two-run homer for the Mets in the top half of the frame. Al Leiter pitches 8+ innings for the Mets. Armando Benítez gives up the tying homer, but gets the win in relief. **St. Louis defeat the Braves, 10–4, to take a 2-game-to-1 lead in their NLDS. Will Clark hits a three-run home run for St. Louis and Jim Edmonds ties a division-series record with three doubles. Darryl Kile is the winning pitcher, while Tom Glavine takes the loss in his shortest outing in seven years. * 2002: **The Anaheim Angels shock the New York Yankees by scoring eight runs in the fifth inning and going on to a 9–5 victory. The victory give Anaheim its first postseason series victory ever, as they win their ALDS matchup, three games to 1. Shawn Wooten hit a home run for Anaheim while Jorge Posada adds a round–tripper for New York. Jarrod Washburn gets the victory for the Angels. **St. Louis oust the defending world champion Arizona Diamondbacks by taking a 6–3 win to sweep into the National League Championship Series. David Dellucci and Rod Barajas hit home runs for Arizona, but it's not enough to stop St. Louis. Jeff Fassero picks up his second win of the series in relief. **The Atlanta Braves take a 2–1 lead in their NLCS with a 10–2 victory over the Francisco Giants. Keith Lockhart homers for Atlanta and Barry Bonds for San Francisco. Pitcher Greg Maddux goes the first six innings for the victory. **Minnesota even their ALDS with Oakland behind Eric Milton, winning by a score of 11–2. Doug Mientkiewicz homers for Minnesota and Miguel Tejada for Oakland. * 2012: ** A new wild card element is introduced, in which two National League teams and two American League teams battle in two separate games in a single day to determine which would move onto the playoffs. The first of these games are held on October 5, 2012 and feature the St. Louis Cardinals at the Atlanta Braves and the Baltimore Orioles at the Texas Rangers. The Cardinals-Braves game is won 6-3 by the Cardinals, but is played under official protest by the Braves following a perceived blown call regarding the infield fly rule. Fan outrage at the call results in a 19-minute delay as fans litter the field with debris and the teams and officials are forced to seek shelter in the dugouts. Births *1824 - Henry Chadwick, Hall of Fame sportswriter and historian (d. 1908) *1889 - Jim Bagby, Sr., pitcher (d. 1954) *1904 - Sam West, All-Star outfielder (d. 1985) *1958 - Randy Bush, outfielder *1967 - Rey Sánchez, infielder *1972 - Aaron Guiel, outfielder *1975 - Brandon Puffer, pitcher Deaths *1918 - Eddie Grant, infielder (b. 1883) *1954 - Oscar Charleston, Hall of Fame Negro Leagues player (b. 1896) *2001 - Woody Jensen, outfielder (b. 1907)